ESE 633 – Week 1 – DQ 1 – History and Service Delivery Options for Students with Disability

History and Service Delivery Options for Students with Disability

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History and Service Delivery Options for Students with Disability

Due to the federal laws that has been enacted in the United States from 1950’s to protect the right of all the students with disabilities, more money have been allocated by the federal government to ensure that all the children with disabilities are educated. Also, the money allocated by the federal government ensures that the educators receive adequate training that will help the students meet their special needs. The creation of the rights of the children with disabilities from 1950’s led to evolution of the role of the special educator in that, due to the law, the role of the educator was supposed to provide Individualized Education Program to children with disabilities. The special educator also ensured that children with disabilities get relevant instructional goals and objectives, specifications as to length of school year, determination of the most appropriate educational placement, and descriptions of criteria to be used in evaluation and measurement. All these came about due to Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975 that mandated that all the children with disabilities get free Individualized Education Program. The act also protected disable children from discriminatory practices. In return for federal funding, each state was to ensure that students with disabilities received non-discriminatory testing, evaluation, and placement; the right to due process; education in the least restrictive environment; and a free and appropriate education (Murawski & Spencer, 2011).

Many changes in the special education field have been introduced that ensures that all the children, normal children and disabled, receive equal treatment. In the movement towards equal treatment of children, normal and disabled, several trends have been experienced. Before the inclusion of students in the regular school, there was segregation of children in terms of disability. Those with disabilities were separated and sterilized because of their disability. Due to the exclusion, the special educators considered this to be unfair treatment of children and come up with the movement that focus on instructional interventions and place interventions. This development was aimed at ensuring that students with disabilities receive effective interventions that fit their special needs. After that, there was need for inclusion of students in regular public schools. The need for inclusion was to eliminate discrimination of students based on the physical or health conditions. This trend helped in the enrolment of the students in the regular classroom where they receive instructions with normal students (Dettmer, Dyck & Thurston, 2005). The role of the special educators in the public education historically was to ensure that all the children with disability gets education as well as education the public on the importance of treating all the children equally regardless of their condition. Because of several changes being introduced in the education system, special educators in the next decade may find themselves giving instructions to all the students regardless of their condition. They will give instructions to all the students in a regular classroom where all the students are included.

In the legislation of the practices in the special education since 1950’s, there are many leaders and figures who have been in the fore front in advocating for enacting and passing the laws that protect the rights of the students with special needs. They include; President John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, President Gerald Ford, President Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, President Clinton, Mary Switzer, Gini Laurie, Kathryn McGee, Morton Birnbaum, Stephen Beck, Jr, Christopher and Dana Reeve, Matthew Shepard , James Byrd, Jr., Paul Wellstone ,Pete Domenici, Billy Golfus, Ronald Mace, Ted Kennedy, Jr, Edward Roberts, Judy Heumann, and Joan Leon and President Jimmy Carter.

References

Dettmer, P., Dyck, N., & Thurston, L. P. (2005). Consultation, collaboration, and teamwork for students with special needs. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Murawski, W. W., & Spencer, S. (2011). Collaborate, communicate, & differentiate!: How to increase student learning in today’s diverse schools. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.